


Trampolines and Balance Beams

by regenderate



Series: Fanzine Prompts [8]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 05:57:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20421050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regenderate/pseuds/regenderate
Summary: Remember how Rose said she was good at gymnastics as a kid?(Thirteen Week Day 3: Secret Talent)





	Trampolines and Balance Beams

**Author's Note:**

> do NOT ask why rose and thirteen are in the same tardis. it's because they are in love

“Bet you can’t do that,” the Doctor says, nudging Rose. They’re at a sort of circus show, and their main entertainment thus far has been imagining themselves in place of the performers— it’s hard, of course, to picture being one of the snake-like aliens who’s been dangling above the stage most of the evening, or one of the six-legged “space horses” that the Doctor’s assured Rose are treated humanely, and it’s funny to picture themselves juggling or wearing a big red nose. But now the Doctor’s pointing at one of the more humanoid performers, who’s kicking into a handstand from a backbend, and Rose laughs.

“Could do,” she says. “Once, anyway.”

The Doctor stares at her. 

“You could do what?”

“Some of that stuff,” Rose says, nodding at the performer. “Backbends and all. Maybe still can. It’s been a while since I tried, but it’s not like I’ve lost muscle, running around with you.”

“True enough,” the Doctor says. 

“I’ll show you later,” Rose adds. “Bet the TARDIS has the right sort of gym.”

“I can’t believe you’ve been able to do tricks and you never told me!” the Doctor exclaims. The audience members in front of her turn around and glare. “Sorry,” she whispers.

“I did tell you,” Rose whispers. “Remember? First day we met? The rope?”

“Oh, yeah,” the Doctor says, remembering. “Brilliant, that was. Only I forgot about the gymnastics, what with the threat to the planet and all.”

“Yeah, and you weren’t the sort to remember, back then,” Rose adds. 

The Doctor rolls her eyes. Rose grins and goes back to watching the show.

Later, the Doctor’s tinkering in the console room when Rose comes to find her. 

“I found a gym,” she says, panting. “A proper one, with bars and balance beams and a trampoline.”

The Doctor removes her head from the crawl space under the TARDIS console and asks, “Is there a rope to swing on?”

Rose laughs.

“Properly it’s for climbing, you know,” she says. 

“I’ve never liked proper,” the Doctor counters.

“I know,” Rose says, laughing. “I bet you’d like a trampoline, though.”

“Oh, I do!” the Doctor exclaims. “I love trampolines! I’m brilliant on a trampoline, actually.”

Rose holds out her hand, and the Doctor takes it, and Rose leads her through the TARDIS. 

“Remember you have to be safe,” she says just before she opens the door.

“I’m always safe!” the Doctor exclaims, barrelling into the space.

The gym is nice— much nicer than the one Rose’s school team used to practice in, back when she was a kid. It’s got stuff she never learned how to use properly, and other stuff she’s pretty sure comes from the future or the past or some alien culture. There’s gymnastics equipment, circus equipment, regular weights and treadmills and the like. Everything thirteen-year-old Rose dreamed of, really.

The Doctor doesn’t take the time to notice. She just runs right to the trampoline at the back of the space, sheds her jacket, and, after a few jumps to gain height, she starts a complex sequence of flips. Rose sits on a balance beam and watches, amazed, clapping for each one. 

“Brilliant,” she says when the Doctor hops off. “Where’d you learn that?”

“Joined the circus once,” the Doctor says. “Ages ago. Guess it stuck.”

“I don’t think I can live up to that,” Rose says. “I never did trampoline, anyway. We didn’t even have one, not a real one like here. It was the sort of thing you put in a backyard for kids to play in. My mum never would’ve let me touch it. ‘Too dangerous,’ she always said.”

“What did you do, then?” the Doctor asks.

“I got good at balance beam,” Rose says. She swings her legs up on the beam she’s sitting on. It’s the highest one, a few feet off the ground, which makes her a bit nervous. But she’s been on beams over gaping caverns, over hungry flames, and she’s not so scared of a padded floor these days. She starts slow, just stepping forward, and then she takes a few steps back and tries for a cartwheel, and when she lands that (and the Doctor claps and cheers), she starts one of her old routines. It’s not the one that got her the bronze— it’s older than that, easier, safer. Simple steps, beginner moves. She’s surprised by how much she remembers. And she was right about her muscles still being strong-- traveling with the Doctor is its own kind of workout. The Doctor cheers her on, and that makes it seem like something that could win the Olympics.

And then she’s done, and she slides to the ground.

“That’s it,” she says. 

“Rose Tyler,” the Doctor says, and pulls her into a hug. “You’re brilliant.”

“I know,” Rose says, laughing against the Doctor’s shirt. “Now, I don’t suppose you’d want to teach me some of your tricks on the trampoline?”


End file.
